Musical-instrument control-handle.



R. A. GALLY,

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CONTROL HANDLE. APPLICATION FILED 0019, 1911.

1,033,885. Patented July 3 0, 1912.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEFIQE.

ROBERT A. GALLY, OF CINCINNATI, OI-IIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE BALDWIN COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT CONTROL-HANDLE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. GALLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical- Instrument- Control-Handles, of which the following is a specification.

Previous devices for the manual control of the tempo and other expression features of player pianos and the like which require a considerable size of handle and an extensive motion, have either been conspicuous in appearance when not in use, or have required covers, drawers, or slides to hide them at such times, and generally necessitated their being too small for convenience to the hand, or having their sweep in a horizontal plane opposed to the swing of the wrist, or both. The handle now set forth is compactly contained in the keyslip when not in use, and in operation is of ample size, and allows a full sweep for accurate manipulation by the hand moving it in a sweep in vertical plane corresponding to that of the users hand.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of the controller handle in operative position, the keyslip and keybed being partly in section to show the handle; Fig. 2 being the same handle when closed into the keyslip when out of use.

The handle 1 is tiltably mounted on the arm 2 that is fast on the shaft 3, which shaft may be connected to the tempo valve or other control or expression device of a player-piano or the like in any suitable manner.

The tiltable mounting consists of a pin 4 fast in the arm 2, and slots 5 in the two flanges 6 of handle 1, which flanges embrace the arm 2 and guide the handle 1 on said arm 2.

l/Vhen the handle 1 is in operative position as in Fig. 1, the slots 7 in the bottom of flanges 6 engage the pin 8 which is fast in arm 2, and so cause the handle 1 and arm 2 to be locked together and operate as one when the handle 1 is oscillated to turn the shaft 3 to actuate the connected devices.

When the handle 1 is to be put out of use, it is raised to free the slots 7 of its flanges 6 from the pin 8 of the arm 2, and the upper Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 9, 1911.

Patented July 30, 1912.

Serial No. 653,637.

part of handle 1 is then tipped to the right and down into the-opening 9 of the keyslip 10, where its extreme end rests on the ledge 11 of the keyslip opening 9, as shown in Fig. 2, the plain face of handle 1 then lying flush with the top face of the keyslip 10 with the neat appearance similar to a lockplate. A check-pin 12 removably fastened into handle 1 prevents any accidental separation of handle 1 and arm. 2,,yet allows separation when cleaning or replacing, by removal of check-pin 12. A spring 13 aids in holding the handle 1 in its level position when out of use, and to prevent rattling at such time, but when the handle 1 has the major part of its weight in its portion toward the ledge 11 from its bearing on pin 4:, such overbalanced weight allows the omission of the spring 13.

It is to be understood that many detail variations may be made in this device and remain subject to the claims hereof, as for instance, the pin 4 may be in the flanges 6 of arm 1, and a slot similar to 5 embodied in arm 2.

What I claim as my invention, is

1. A keyboard. musical instrument having keys and a keyslip, and having a chamber opening in the top of said keyslip, an oscillating arm in said chamber, a handle tiltably mounted on said arm and tiltable from a vertical operative position to a horizontal inoperative position flush with the top face of the keyslip and within said keyslip, and engaging means for retaining the handle in either of said positions at will.

2. A keyboard musical instrument having keys and a keyslip, and having a chamber opening in the top of said keyslip, an oscillating arm in said chamber, a bearing on saidarm, a handle tiltably mounted on said bearing and tiltable from a vertical operative position to a horizontal inoperative position flush with the top face of the keyslip and within said keyslip, and engaging means for retaining the handle in either of said positions at will.

ROBT. A. GALLY.

WVitnesses:

J. W. MAoY, F. S. Gnsr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

